Blog - forest fires

Forest fires in Sweden

Forest fires in Sweden

by Lewis, 23 July, 2018, 1 comments

Sweden has a lot of forest and woodland. In fact, roughly half of the country is covered by trees. Travelling back some two thousand years, the trees were mainly broadleaved but then oaks and alders began to decline. However, by the mid twentieth century Spruces and Pines were dominant. This was mainly due to the process of forestry management, producing wood for fuel, charcoal [used in iron smelting], potash, tar and timber for building. However, the recent record breaking temperatures and drought across many parts of Europe have put large areas of Swedish forest at risk. Rainfall in Sweden this year has been dramatically down - approximately a seventh of the normal amount. One has to look back to the C19th century to find similarly low figures. Read more...

The mediterranean cypress and forest fires.

The mediterranean cypress and forest fires.

by Chris, 7 October, 2016, 1 comments

According the United Nations FAO, some two million hectares of forest were burnt in the Mediterranean region, between 2006 and 2010. Most of these fires were 'human induced'; they (the fires) are the most frequent cause of degradation / loss of forest / woodland in this region. In 2012, a fire swept through some 20,000 hectares of forest near Andilla (Valencia). After the fire, it was found that though oaks, holm oaks, pines and junipers had been completely burnt, the vast majority (98% +) of the Mediterranean Cypresses were still standing, tall and green. There followed a three year study of the fire resilience of the Mediterranean Cypress (Cupressus sempervirens var horizontalis) to see if stands of these trees might function as buffer zones to hinder or prevent the spread of forest fires. Read more...

Italian forestry

Italian forestry

by Angus, 9 September, 2015, 1 comments

Italy has a long tradition of forestry management going back before Roman times, and ancient traditions very much influence Italy's woodlands today. For example, 40% of Italian wood production is chestnut or beech which, along with oak, would have been dominant species for the Romans. There are also lots of non-timber forest products that are important to Italians such as mushrooms, wild boar and firewood. Indeed compared to the UK, Italy gets a large proportion of its energy from woodfuel with almost 60% of cut wood being used for domestic heating. Read more...

VOC's and Pine trees.

VOC’s and Pine trees.

by Chris, 21 March, 2014, 3 comments

Boreal forest is found in Canada, Sweden, Finland, Norway and Russia. Essentially, it is coniferous forest with tree species such as pines, spruces, larches and aspens. In the U. K., this unique ecosystem is represented by the Caledonian Forest (a remnant of the vast sylvan wilderness that once existed here). One of the larger tracts of this native pine forest is the Black Wood of Rannoch. One feature of the boreal forest or taiga is that it has areas of even-aged stands of trees. This uniformity arises through cycles of natural disturbance – from forest fires to outbreaks of insect pests such as pine beetle or spruce budworm, which periodically kill off large sections of forest – but these areas, in turn, regenerate. Read more...

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